The Central New England Railway, in its final
form, was the end result of numerous starts, bankruptcy's, mergers, and
takeovers. A text history of the CNE can be found here. The CNE ended its life in 1927 as the railroad came under the control of the New
York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company. After the NH acquired control of
the line it began wholesale abandonment of the right of way. Now, some 79 years
later, some of the right of way has been preserved through the hard work of some
to become walking paths. Much of the right of way is now underneath major paved
roads such as Route 44 in parts of Winsted. In my wanderings through Litchfield
County I have noticed that a large amount of the right of way is actually
visible from the highways, back roads and driveways throughout the area.
Wintertime is a great time to drive Route 44 from Collinsville (this is were I
pick up the right of way) to State Line. If you want to know more about the
eastern end of the line (from Collinsville to Hartford and Springfield, MA) you
should check out the web page of Tim Dowd. He is attending college halfway
across the country and still finds time to document the CNE. Check out his page
Central New
England Railway